A Ripple in Time
by CinnamonPita
Summary: The now demon Inuyasha’s eyes stared down at the shredded body of Kagome, and his claws flexed as the blood slowly ran off of them. ‘No,’ he said in his mind, ‘I..I didn’t..I couldn’t kill Kagome... Kagome...MY Kagome.’ InuXKag, summary may change. R&R!
1. Temporary Relief

_Summary: The now demon Inuyasha's eyes stared down at the shredded body of Kagome, his conscious screaming at him, and his claws flexed as the blood ran off the tips of his fingers. No,'_ _he said in his mind_ _'no, I…I didn't…I couldn't kill Kagome….Kagome…my Kagome.'_

Chapter 1:

Temporary Relief

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Kagome sighed as she sat down to her desk, backpack at her side, and prepared to start her math homework. She had been missing so much of school lately. Inuyasha seemed to be on a war path at the moment with his constant need to find the jewel shards. His searching had started to really eat into her life back in the present and she was falling farther and farther behind in her school work.

'_Whyyyyyyyy me?'_ Kagome thought to herself tiredly as she slouched down into the desk chair. Kagome pulled her math book out of her backpack and onto the desk, reluctantly turning the pages to her assignment.

As Kagome scanned over the problems she felt her mood begin to darken more and more as the problems made less and less sense. Her pencil fell out of her hand and her eyes close as something hot began to sting at the corners of her eyes.

_Thud!_

Her head had fallen hard onto the desk in defeat. Kagome scrunched her eyes together to hold back the tears that so desperately had been fighting to spill out for the past month! Things were crashing over her mind like rogue waves and as her tears began to fall down her face, her throat got tighter as sobs built up inside her.

'_Why am I crying? I have no good reason to be crying.' _Kagome thought numbly as she found the strength to open her eyes and stare at the desk. _'It's not like my entire school life has fallen apart, I never get to see my family anymore, I've been traveling around putting my life at risk just to find some stupid jewel, and put up with some big fat fucking jerk!'_

"AHHHH!!! I hate my life!!" She moaned out loudly as she her head back to stare up at the ceiling.

"Jeez, what's got you so mad?" a familiar voice asked as Kagome 'eeped' lightly and sat up straight in her chair, her head snapping in the direction of the voice. Sure enough, the owner of the voice, a hanyou clad in a red haori, sat on sill of her window. His golden orbs bore through her as he hopped off of the sill and came to stand in front of her, and bent down to her level. "What? Are ya gonna say something or just keep staring at me like that?" Inuyasha snapped.

Kagome's mouth gaze had been frozen onto Inuyasha this entire time and quickly snapped out of her stupor at his snappy comment. Her surprise quickly flashed into embarrassment as she realized that he had just caught her in a mid meltdown; there were probably tear tracks still on her cheeks. She quickly turned her head away from Inuyasha to stare at her door as her hands flew to her cheeks quickly wiping away any evidence of her cry fest.

"Inu..Inuyasha, what are you do..doing here?" She stuttered as she warily looked at him over her shoulder. "You're not supposed to come get me for another two days?!"

The hanyou shifted around Kagomes shoulder and leaned over to get a better look at her face. His nose twitched as he took in her scent, it seemed to be the same, but he could smell the faint hint of salt mixed in.

"Have you been crying?" Inuyasha asked bluntly as he kept prying around her shoulder, Kagome cringing forward to further hide her face.

"No! I am not crying!" Kagome spoke up stubbornly as she swiftly turned in the chair to stare Inuyasha face to face. His face was closer to hers than she had expected and could feel his hot breathe slowly splash across her face. "Now w..why are you he...hear?" she stammered out harshly, her gazing meeting his.

Inuyasha wasn't fazed in the least by the small amount of distance between their faces, and even moved in closer a little before swiftly snapping up into a full standing position. He crossed his arms across his chest and turned his nose up towards the ceiling as he spoke, "You've been gone for a whole day now and apparently there's a hoard of demons somewhere up in the mountains near the village. Sango spotted them as she was scouting yesterday," he spoke evenly as he then slowly turned to face Kagome, "and we believe there might be a jewel shard among them."

Kagome listened carefully to all of this as she felt the veil of sleep starting to fall over her mind. She stifled a yawn with her hand as Inuyasha finished his story and stared up at him lazily. "So you want me to come back to the feudal era to find a jewel shard that may NOT even be there?" she questioned harshly as she stood up from her chair. "You know Inuyasha, I have a lot of work I have to do hear to ya know," Kagome said pointing out the fact that this crazy goose chase for the Shikon no Tama had seriously been eating into her personal and school life, "and I think it would be best if I stayed here for another two, maybe even four days, to catch up on my OWN stuff."

With an "hmph" Kagome turned her back on Inuyasha sauntered over to her bed where she began to pull back her sheets and plop down on the comfy mattress. Inuyashsa's expression was one of true surprise and anger. His mouth, that had been hanging open, shut with and audible snap and his eyes narrowed to stare down at Kagome.

"What did you say, wench? Do you think your little problems are more important or something? We have a lead on a jewel shard and you decide that you would rather just stay do your OWN thing?" Inuyasha's voice was incredulous as he continued to stare down at her from where he stood, his mouth clenched shut. Kagome's expression was one of boredom as she let out a sigh and stared back at Inuyasha trying to stay calm. She didn't feel like fighting with him right now.

"Look, Inuyasha, I just have a lot on my plate. I'm swamped with stuff!" her voice was becoming pleading as she dropped her gaze from his eyes to her comforter, "we can go back to the feudal era tomorrow evening, after I go to school. I just…need to catch up…and…and to breathe." Her resolve had broken as she gave into inuyasha's request, or more like command, to leave. Kagome felt the hot prickling against her eyes once again as she continued staring down at her bed. _'Why can't he just understand that sometimes I need a little time to myself, to catch up with all of my stuff? He's so selfish. I know this is important and we need to get the jewel shards before Naraku, but…but how much more can I take?'_

Kagome let out a pitiful sigh as she closed her eyes to hide the tears. Falling back against the comforter she mumbled out a goodnight to Inuyasha and reached over to turn out her lamp next to the bed, darkness enveloped the room instantly.

As a deep silence, save for Kagome's steady breathing, fell over the room Inuyasha let his arms fall to his sides and eyes soften. _'Were those tears again?'_ he thought to himself as he stared down at the young woman. He suddenly felt a tinge of guilt start to pull at his heart, but pushed it aside, he was too prideful to feel sorry for pushing to find the sacred jewel shards.

Inuyasha stepped forward carefully through the room over to Kagome's side of the bed and looked down at her. Her face was somewhat scrunched together in an expression of what looked like sadness, and it made the feeling of guilt smack Inuyasha in the back of the head. He couldn't help it. He did feel bad for making Kagome sad, but the urgency to get the jewel shards was his primary concern…right? Inuyasha knelt down calmly to be level with the bed and gently laid a hand on the side of Kagome's cheek. This gesture surprised him as he seemed to do it instinctively, but made no move to move his hand. He just kept it where it was, happy to feel the warmth of her skin.

Kagome's expression seemed to soften under his touch and a small smile played across the hanyou's lips. "Damnit! Why do I feel so bad now?" Inuyasha asked himself quietly as he slowly picked his hand up off of Kagome's cheek and walked over to the walk next to the bed. He leaned his back against it and slid down it to the floor, his eyes shutting together tightly. "She's mad at me…and I'm gonna have to make it up to her…but…I don't wanna have to wait another fucking three or four days?!" he hissed out as he took a few deep breaths trying to steady himself.

After a few moments of silence Inuyasha's gaze got heavier and heavier as his lids started to fall over his vision. His breathing slowed down and before he knew it, sleep took hold of him. In his dream world, he saw himself with the full Shikon jewel in his grasp and his eyes glowing red, his claws growing. Kagome was in the background looking at his transformation in horror, and his eyes swiveled to the direction of the girl. An animal-like snarl ripped through his chest as he launched himself towards her. Red slashes flashed out towards her, and he could hear her echoing through the forest. The now demon Inuyasha's eyes stared down at the shredded body of Kagome, his conscious screaming at him, and his claws flexed as the blood ran off the tips of his fingers. _'No…'_ he said in his mind _'no, I…I didn't…I couldn't kill Kagome….Kagome…my Kagome.'_

Inuyasha's eyes snapped open to stare out into absolute blackness. The sound of breathing flooded his ears, as the ones on the top of his head swiveled in the direction of it. "Kagome?" he asked softly.

Looking over to the bed, his eyes adjusting quickly, he saw the even fall and rise of Kagome's chest as she lay peacefully in bed, asleep. Inuyasha let out a sigh of relief as his gaze dropped to the ground, a hand coming up to cover his eyes. It pressed roughly against his face, as he tried to force the memory out of his mind…and tried to comprehend what he had said. _'Did I really call Kagome…mine?' _

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**Welllll, there you have it. My first installment of A Ripple in Time, I hope you enjoyed it! Does Inuyasha tell Kagome of his dream and accept the fact he called her his? How does he make it up to Kagome and does she actually go back with him to the feudal era? All very good questions, with soon to come answers. I should have the chapter up soon enough, maybe even in like two days before school starts so everyone will have something to tide them over while I'm busy. I would really love your reviews and tips on this story! Even if you have ideas or some drama you think might be fun to throw in I would love to hear about it!!! IMPORTANT: Just so you all know, the main plot to the story is Kagome and Inuyasha are verrrry close to having the whole Shikon Jewel completed and Inuyasha is 'planning', meaning he's becoming ify, on using it to become a full fledge demon and is starting to really push Kagome away. On the way there are fights, confessions, mistakes, decisions, and perhaps death. I can't reveal a lot, but you'll all see soon enough! One thing I will say is that there's a reason for this being InuXKag, if you haven't already caught on. ;) Anywho, thank you for reading, now go review!!**

**Sincerely,**

**CinnamonPita**


	2. Can't Judge A Book By It's Cover

Kagome awoke the next morning to the ringing of her alarm clock. As she grumbled into her pillow her hand lazily reached out to hit the snooze button on the clock, but only made contact with the air.

"What the…", Kagome said as she sat up and sleepily opened her eyes to find her alarm clock gone. The beeping was still going though and then suddenly she heard someone faintly cursing over the beeps.

"Damn...how does this thing work?" Inuyasha hissed as his head snapped up at the sound of movement. His eyes watched as Kagome gaze met his. He was holding the alarm clock in both hands and had been randomly pressing buttons on it trying to turn it off. He was becoming so desperate to get the noise to stop he was about to rip it to pieces!

"Inuyasha…," Kagome said as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "What are you doing?" Her question was mainly asking what was he doing with her alarm clock, but she was wondering what he was still doing here in her room. Though, it was him so of course he would stay. Inuyasha was going to hold her to her word and then some.

"Trying to make this thing shut up! Why do you even have it Kagome? It's so loud an annoying…" Inuyasha trailed off as he started to press a few other buttons till it finally stopped beeping. He sighed in relief, his ears drooping in the process and walked back to Kagome's side where he handed her the clock.

"Thanks." She said dryly as she took the clock only to set it back on her night stand. Kagome dragged her body out of bed and placed her feet onto the floor, Inuyasha's eyes watching her the entire time. She tried her hardest to ignore his eyes boring into her as she walked over to her closet and opened it to grab a uniform. "Hey Inuyasha? Why don't you go on downstairs and see if mom has breakfast ready, kay?"

Inuyasha's ears perked up at the sound of his name, his mind snapping back to the present. He had been thinking about his dream from last night and was scanning over Kagome's body, making sure that it really hadn't happened. His gaze was intent on making sure she was okay. Why was he so worried though? Inuyasha knew it hadn't really happen, but still. He wanted to make sure. Though, he was starting to find it harder and harder to keep his eyes from wandering happily to certain spots on her body. "Sure. I'll tell her you'll be own soon." Inuyasha said as he turned to open the door and started out. He closed it behind him after taking one last look at Kagome and then headed on down the stairs, the smell of food pulling him into the kitchen.

Kagome sighed after she heard the sound of the door close and looked over at the door, just to make sure he was gone. '_Why was he staring at me like that? It was like he was trying to find something on me, like something was wrong with me.' _She thought to herself as she started to slowly strip out of her pajamas and pull on her uniform. It consisted of a green skirt, with white knee high socks, a white shirt and green and red collar thing.

The smell of food began to worm it's way inside her room and she took in a deep breath of the aroma as she started to brush through her hair. Kagome kept down, it hanging around her shoulders and face in the most becoming way, and then quickly grabbed some make up and put it on before reaching for her books. She slid them into her backpack carefully while walking over to her door. "My math book from last night is missing…"she thought out loud, "maybe Inuyasha took it or he saw where I put it."

Kagome opened the door quickly and ran out into the hallway, turning to her left and then making her way down the stairwell. She slowed down at the bottom of the steps and briskly walked into the kitchen to see gramps sitting in a chair drinking his tea, mom at the stove, Souta eating pancakes, and Inuyasha on the floor playing with the cat. Kagome shook her head in disbelief as Inuyasha teased the cat with a toy, and walked over to kiss her mom on the cheek and grab some toast. "Morning everyone!"

The hanyou looked up from his antics with the cat at the sound of Kagome's voice. She was dressed for school and had a piece of toast in her hand as she walked over in his direction. "Inuyasha, have you seen my math book anywhere? Did I put it up somewhere last night?" Kagome asked him as she came to stand in front of him.

"The book you were mad at last night? I don't remember you doing anything with it. Why?" he asked curiously as he looked up at her expression as it started to become one of worry.

"Well that's just great!" Kagome yelled as she sighed and went over to the table. She plopped down into a chair slowly began to nibble on the rest of her toast. Inuyasha watched her the entire time and quickly became confused, just like the rest of her family, as to what had brought that on. Kagome looked around the room and saw everyone's gaze focused on her and rolled her eyes before speaking, "I lost my math book."

Souta and gramps simply shook their heads before getting back to their breakfast and Kagome's mother walked over to put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure it'll turn up somewhere dear." Kagome's mom said sweetly before walking back to the stove. Inuyasha watched Kagome simply shrug off her mothers comment and aimlessly eat away at her toast.

He stood up from the floor and quietly made his way to the kitchen entrance. Everyone was too busy doing their own thing to notice his leave. As the time ticked away on the clock hanging on the wall in front of Kagome she decided it would be best to just head on, maybe she could borrow one of her friends book for the day.

"I'm gonna head out I guess…" Kagome said as she forced herself up out of the chair and away from the table. She dragged her feet over to the back door where she slid on her shoes, tapping them onto the ground to get all the way on. Kagome turned to wave bye to everyone before opening the door and stepping outside.

The sun was bright, and shining in the sky as clouds dotted around it. She took in a deep breath of fresh air, closing her eyes, when she suddenly felt something like a shadow over her, blocking the sunlight. Kagome at first figured it was just a cloud covering the sun, but then there was the sound of breathing. It wasn't a cloud…clouds don't breathe.

"Here." Kagome heard a familiar gruff voice say as she felt something thrust into her hands. Her eyes snapped open to see Inuyasha standing over her, but looking over his shoulder and advoiding eye contact.

"What…." Kagome began to say before she looked down at her hands, and she couldn't believe her eyes. "But this is.."

"It's that book you thought you lost, yeah. It was under your bed…" Inuyasha said trailing off, like it was nothing. Kagome's gaze traveled back up to Inuyasha's face and she couldn't believe he had done something like this for her. For him to do this for her, it was something you didn't see everyday, and it actually meant a lot to her.

"Thank you so much, Inuyasha." Kagome said sincerely as she gave him a kind smile. He simply shrugged and kept his head facing in the other direction.

"It was nothing. I don't see what the big deal is anyway, it's just a book." He said trying to keep up his tough guy act, but Kagome simply rolled her eyes knowing him too well to fall for it. Inuyasha huffed again as his head turned to the front barely and caught her rolling her eyes. "Tch. Shouldn't you be going to school or something?" he asked impatiently as Kagome kept staring at him as if he was her savior.

She finally snapped out of her stunned daze from Inuyasha's act of kindness and looked down at the book, a blush creeping across her face. _'Why am I blushing? I mean, he's done stuff like this before…right? It's nothing really new.'_ "Yeah your right," she said coming out of her thoughts, "I should be going, but thanks again for finding my book." Kagome's tone was kind and even as she looked back up and over Inuyasha towards the gates to the shrine.

Inuyasha watched as she walked on by him and out to the gates, her last comment still running through his mind. Why was he so concerned by what she said or thought of him all of the sudden? He never even had a second thought about Kagome's feelings…well, at least not most of the time. "Kagome…" Inuyasha whispered to himself as she became completely out of his view down the street.

The sound of scratching on wood dragged the hanyou out of his thoughts though as he turned to face the shed that held the well. The doors were rattling and the scratching noise became louder and more persistent. "What the…" he said as he carefully stepped towards the wooden doors.

Once there, Inuyasha gently laid a hand on the door handle, and suddenly the scratching stopped. His nose twitched as he smelled the scent of a demon and his claws exteneded, his other hand resting on the Tetsuiga as he prepared to attack. He through the doors open quickly and drew his sword in one fluid motion. The tip of the sword stopped just above a whimpering ball of fur, it's scent strangely becoming more familiar to the hanyou. "Please…Inuyasha…" the demon managed to choke out, "it's me…Shippo…I..I'm sorry but you were taking so long so…so I…took some jewel shards and came to get you." Shippo stammered out his plea to Inuyasha as he slowly looked out from his bushy tail that had been covering his face.

"Shippo? Tch, you should know better than to sneak up on me like that." Inuyasha said indifferently as he sheathed his sword. He looked down at the young fox demon and watched as he unwrapped himself from behind his tail and looked up into Inuyasha's eyes.

"Sorry, but I have a good reason for coming! There's a demon in a village nearby, and we think that it has some jewel shards!" Shippo exclaimed happily. "We need you and Kagome to hurry back to our time before the monster leaves the village and we lose him!"

At the mere mention of the Shikon jewel shards Inuyasha instantly became interested. He listened to the kit's story carefully and slowly began to think of ways to take down this demon and get the jewels. The whole Shikon no Tama was very close to being completed and Inuyasha needed Kagome's help more than ever in finding them all. Though…he had already pushed her so far…and didn't know how much she would appreciate him jumping on her in the middle of a class and humans who had never even seen a demon let alone half-demon before.

"I…I need to talk to Kagome." Inuyasha said a little out of it, his mind was too busy thinking about how he push Kagome to just leaving right away. He ignored the surprised look on Shippo's face as he quickly turned on his heels and sprinted out the shed doors towards the shrine gates. He made his way through the streets and over roof tops till he saw the familiar large white building, Kagome's school. Inuyasha landed onto the roof silently and sat down instantly, ready to wait till the final bell rang and to speak with Kagome. He had some time in between now and then to get together what he would say to her. _'I feel bad for making her leave so quickly…but the jewel shards. She'll understand right?'_ Kagome seemed to becoming more hostile each time Inuyasha asked her to come back to the feudal era, or search for jewel shards, or even to cook for him. It was starting to actually worry him.

Kagome was sitting in class watching the time on the clock tick away. She was trying her hardest to pay attention, but she couldn't. She had a lot on her mind. Kagome knew that Inuyasha would want her to come back with him as soon as possible, but…she just wasn't ready. Kagome had been losing touch with her closest friends, Hojo was starting to get tired of waiting for her and missing dates, and gramps was running out of illnesses. On top of it all, her school work was seriously falling behind. _'Maybe…maybe I should tell Inuyasha...that I…I don't wanna go back.' _The thought was really hard for Kagome to accept, but she knew that it was what she needed. Or at least thought that's what was best for her anyway. But how could she ever break this news to Inuyasha?

**Second Chapter!!!! YAY!! Hope you all love it and please review!! I really like to hear about what you all think of the story and I want tips on my writing, tell me anything! Let me know if you love it, think it could be better, needs something, or have any other tips for me. Thanks for all who have read the story and are enjoying it so far. I should be able to update soon, a few days I would guess. Keep your eyes out for Chapter three I'm throwing in some loops here realllllly soon. ******

**Sincerely,**

**~CinnamonPita**


	3. Giving In

Chapter 3: Giving In

The final bell for the day rang throughout the school building causing chaos as students flew out of their seats and down the halls to the outside. Kagome, however, slowly dragged herself up and out of her seat, slowly put her books away and quietly walked out of the classroom. She was savoring this moment of being at school, seeing her friends, and actually feeling like a normal teenager for once. I mean, sure, she loved running around the feudal era, fighting off demons, and being with Sango, Miroku, and Shippo, but it was just becoming so hard to juggle her life in the present with her new life in the past. There was something that she had in the feudal era that she didn't have in the present though, and it was something she didn't know if she wanted to lose. Inuyasha.

"Kagome…" The voice came from behind her, it was quiet and soft. Hearing her name said like that, it was like being in a dream. She sighed quietly to herself and turned around to see the red clad hanyou standing in the middle of the hallway, a baseball cap securely on top of his head. His expression was soft and contemplative, a look that she had only ever seen a few times.

"Inuyasha, why are you here?" Kagome asked as she began to walk towards him. He seemed so calm; it was so unnatural for him. _'I feel like there's something wrong. Like he has something bad to tell me. But he doesn't seem urgent or worried…just…calm.'_ Kagome though to herself as she tried to process the expression on Inyasha's face.

"I just…wanted to come get you…from school." Inyasha stuttered out. He seemed frazzled when he spoke. As if he wanted to say something else, but couldn't. At this point, Kagome was now standing in front of him. Her scent filled his nose and instantly calmed him, he always felt better when she was near him.

"Okay," Kagome said somewhat skeptically. "Then what's with that face you're making? It's like…you want to tell me something." She was hoping that maybe Inuyasha was just having one of those days, where he's lost in deep thought about something or other, but never tells anyone what he's thinking of. Then again, it's nothing for anyone to really worry about.

"Actually…" Inuyasha began as he slowly looked down at the ground. He didn't know how to tell her this. He was never really that great with words, and it seemed every time he tried to express himself to Kagome it always came out wrong and ended up making her mad. "Kagome, I wanted to tell you that I was sorry for pushing you to go back to the feudal era so soon…I just…We're so close to finishing the Shikon jewel and I can't let Naraku get hold of anymore shards! We have to get them. I need you." Inuyasha rushed the last part of his sentence and let his gaze bore into the tile floor; avoiding Kagome's eyes for fear that she might be mad at him. However, what happened next he didn't expect.

Kagome stepped forward, closing the distance between, and instantly slung her arms around Inuyasha's neck, bringing him close to her in an embrace. She buried her face in his chest and clung tightly around his neck, her body pressed firmly against his. Inuyasha stood stunned, unable to move as he tried to process what had just happened, but slowly he placed his hands on Kagome's back and pulled her closer to him. He didn't really know what to think of this all, but at the moment, he really didn't care.

"Inuyasha, I understand how important the jewel is to you, and I know that we can't allow Naraku to succeed in getting the jewels before us. So…it's okay." Kagome's words were soft spoken and hushed as she kept her face pressed firmly into Inuyasha's chest. She didn't have the heart to tell him that she wanted to stay, because he needed her and whether or not she wanted to admit it, she needed him.

"What's okay Kagome?" Inuyasha asked as he slowly pulled her away from her to stare down at her face. He was confused by what she was saying. He was overall shocked by her actions, considering he was expecting her to have blown up at him for even bringing up the fact that he wanted them to return to the feudal era.

"It's okay…if we go back. I understand Inuyasha." Kagome had to choke out these words because deep down, she didn't really want to leave. Not yet at least. She kept her chin up however, and smiled so Inuyasha wouldn't tell that something was wrong.

"Thanks Kagome." Inuyasha pulled Kagome back in to him and held her close, his face buried in her hair. It smelled heavenly and he took in a deep breath to savor the scent even more. It was strange; the scent drove him mad, but at the same time…set him at ease.

"But uh…Inuyasha," Kagome said cautiously as she slowly pulled herself out of the embrace, Inuyasha letting her go as she backed up. "I think we should leave. Head on home ya know? I need to get my stuff packed if we're gonna leave for the feudal era." Kagome looked to the side as she said the last part and then back up at Inuyasha. She was having a hard time keeping eye contact with him after what just happened between the two. Kagome still wasn't too sure why she had even hugged him in the first place! She was honestly kind of embarrassed now.

"Okay. We'll leave first thing tomorrow morning." Inuyasha said as he began to walk forward towards the school doors. He kept his gaze forward and steady as he pushed open the doors to the outside. The sun was setting and people were making their way home from work. _'How long had we been in the school?' _Inuyasha thought to himself as Kagome walked up next to him.

"Why tomorrow morning?" She asked cocking her head to the side. She figured he would want to leave for the past as soon as they had got home!

"Well, I figured you would wanna get all of your stuff together and bathe and say goodbye to everyone…It would just be easier to leave in the morning knowing you okay?" Inuyasha said exasperated. He rolled his eyes as he thought of how it was always such a hassle to try and get Kagome ready to leave to go to the feudal era. Funny thing is, she always seemed prepared to leave the past whenever needed.

"Well thanks Inuyasha! That gives me a lot more time to get what I want together and do what I need before we go." Kagome smiled up at Inuyasha. He only huffed at her expression and looked away from her, refusing to give in to her charm. Kagome only giggled as she looked towards the horizon again. The setting sun was beautiful, but it didn't have the same effect to it as it did in the feudal era where you could watch it set behind huge, gorgeous mountains instead of towering buildings. Maybe there were some good traits to the past Kagome had never really noticed before.

"You know, just for being nice and waiting till tomorrow morning for us to leave I'm gonna tell my mom to make ramen for dinner tonight!" Kagome's mood had improved greatly in the last few moments and she looked at Inuyasha as his head whipped around to stare at her, his eyes wild. A big goofy grin began to work its way across his face.

"Really?" He asked elated. He reminded Kagome of a kid in a candy shop.

"Sure, why not." She said kindly as she gave him one last smile as they walked up to the shrine steps and began their climb up them. On their way up Kagome wondered why she was so happy all of a sudden. It was like, just the fact that Inuyasha was happy…made her happy. Kagome had also slowly begun to realize that Inuyasha's emotions affected her mood as well, and she found herself worrying about him more than usual. She figured it was just because he had gotten so wrapped up in the jewel finding that he seemed more on edge than normal and she was worried about that…but. It was more than that. It was like she was worried whether or not he was happy, if he missed her when she was gone, if he ever thought about her when she was gone, if he…ever considered things.

Kagome shook her quickly as if to try and rid the thoughts from her mind as she had finally reached the top of the shrine steps. Why was she thinking such things? Inuyasha would never think about such things…why would he? "You okay Kagome?" Inuyasha asked curiously as he looked at her.

Kagome's head snapped up and out of her thoughts at the sound of her name and she quickly fumbled to answer his question. "Uh..um, yeah, I'm fine." She said with a reassuring smile as she continued to walk on past him and into the house, hoping he would just drop the subject and believe her.

The hanyou merely shrugged and followed Kagome on in to the house. No one else was home and the house seemed eerily quiet as Inuyasha listened to Kagome walking around upstairs, his sensitive hearing picking up her every movement. Shippo had probably headed on back to the feudal era or something by now. The cat had made its way over to him and was now rubbing itself up against Inuyasha's legs hoping for attention, but the half-demon merely ignored him as he headed for the stairs. With a few leaps up the steps and down the hall he was in Kagome's room in no time.

"Can you close the door behind you Inuyasha? I don't want the cat getting in my room, I just cleaned." Kagome said as she walked around her room grabbing articles of clothing and random items that she began to shove in her over sized yellow back pack. Inuyasha did as she asked and then walked over to her bed where he gingerly sat down on, watching her as she walked around the room.

"Why are you staring at me so much?" Kagome asked before really thinking about what she had just said. Inuyasha had been watching her like a hawk since this morning and it was really starting to bother so she just had to ask!

"Huh? What do you mean?" Inuyasha asked. He hadn't realized that she had noticed he had been staring. He was still having some trouble forgetting the dream he had had last night and just needed to make sure that Kagome really was okay. That he hadn't really done that to her…that he hadn't really killed her.

"Well, you've been staring at me all day with this look on your face like you're looking for something on me. Like there's something wrong with me. Is my hair messed up? Do I have something in my teeth? Are you having one of those moments where you're comparing me to Kikyo again?" Kagome asked all of these questions a little quickly and the last one with some added menace to it. She was so gonna 'sit' Inuyasha if he was sitting here fantasizing over Kikyo by staring at her again!

"What? Kagome no!" Inuyasha said quickly as he stood up and put his hands on her shoulders. Not completely aware of what he was doing, but he went with it. "I wasn't thinking about Kikyo at all! I promise." His tone began to get gradually softer as he spoke, his gaze as well. Kagome's breath was sucked away as she looked up into his eyes. He seemed so open, so innocent in this moment. "I was thinking about…about this dream I had." His voice became a little strained as he said that. Inuyasha didn't want to tell her that he had killed her…he was too scared that it might frighten her away…that she might find him dangerous and then…leave.

"What was the dream about?" Kagome prodded carefully. She looked up into his eyes with concern. The dream obviously must have been something pretty bad for him to have been worried enough to stare at her all day.

"Well…you…you d-died." Inuyasha stuttered out. He decided he would at least tell her that much. It was partly the truth after all. "I guess I've been staring at ya because…I just had to make sure you were okay. That it hadn't really happened. Because…cause I can't…" Inuyasha stopped there. Unable to finish his sentence.

Kagome didn't push him and could guess what he was about to say next. She looked up at his face into his eyes which were filled with pain and worry. Then, Kagome's began to slowly bring her face closer to his. _What am I doing?_ Kagome thought to herself. _Am I really… about to..to k-ki…_ Her thoughts trailed off as she brought her face even closer to Inuyasha's, his lips within inches of her. And then.

_**BANG!**_

"KAGOME!" Shippo screamed as he burst through the door.


	4. Confirmations and Compromises

_**Author's Note: Hello all! I just wanted to say that I love writing this story so far and love seeing all of the people who have visited and read the story…I would like more reviews though! I really and truly want to hear what everyone though about the story, whether it be just a comment about loving it and wanting an update soon or a review filled with constructive criticism that I need (Cause I know I prolly do. Haha XP). Either way, I WOULD LOVE MORE REVIEWS! So, just click that button and tell me your thoughts! ;) Also, I wanted to say that I'm sorry I kinda drop this story for a really long time and never came back to writing it…but I am here now and plan on finishing the story and updating as soon as possible! Thank you, and now for the newest installment of A Ripple In Time! Hope you all love it!**_

**Chapter 4:** Confirmations and Compromises

Inuyasha and Kagome quickly jolted away from one another as soon as the door slammed open. Their gazes were glued to the walls on opposite sides of the room, neither able to look the other in the eye. The young kitsune, Shippo, looked at the couple standing in the middle of the room perplexed. A light blush was painted on Kagome's cheeks and she seemed uneasy while Inuyasha seemed slightly startled and confused as he kept his eyes as far away from Kagome.

"What are you guys doooiinnggg?" Shippo asked suspiciously as he looked back and forth between the two. He was getting the feeling he had interrupted something important.

"Uh…um, nothing! Nothing at all!" Kagome managed to stutter out as she finally looked Shippo, a fake smile plastered on her face. "We were just packing to get ready to go back to the Feudal Era. Right, Inuysasha?" Kagome asked giggling nervously at the end as she slowly turned to look at him.

"Uh. Yeah, Packing." Inuyasha mumbled as he continued to stare away from Kagome. He had too many thoughts running through his mind at the moment. Inuyasha wasn't even sure about what had just happened between Kagome and him! It wasn't like they had actually kissed or anything…but still. The feeling he felt at the moment was confusing him. _'Kagome was going to kiss me…and I wanted her to. I wanted to kiss Kagome. I…want Kagome.'_

Inuyasha rolled that phrase around in his head while Kagome had gone back to wandering around her room picking things up to pack for her trip back to the past. Shippo had made his way to sit on the bed and to stare down Inuyasha, trying to figure out what had the hanyou locked in such intense concentration. After a few minutes of this though, he finally decided to hop off of the bed and straight on top of the half-demon head. His face coming down to look Inuyasha straight in the eye, only a few inches of space separated their faces.

Snapping out of his thoughts at the feeling of the kitsune jumping on his head Inuyasha began to growl as a hand came up to grab the back of Shippos clothes and haul him off of his head. His glare was menacing as he stared the kid straight in the eye, ready to rip his head off. "What do you think you're doing jumpin on my head like that huh?"

"Hey! Knock it off you two!" Kagome called from in her closet. She had grabbed a few extra pairs of clothes to put in her bag, just in case. You never know when a demon might come by and decide to ruin your clothes. It had happened to Kagome many times before after all.

"He started it!" Inuyasha and Shippo said in unison as the looked innocently at Kagome.

"Well I don't care who started it! I'm finishing it!" Kagome said putting her hands on her hips and staring them down. Then, she brought a hand up to rub her temples as she suddenly realized who she sounded like. "Kami, you guys are making me sound like my mom here! I mean really!" Kagome's hands flew up over her head as she sighed loudly and stormed out of her room to the bathroom to grab some more toiletries.

"Well look what you've done now!" Shippo yelled in Inuyasha's ears.

"Hey! Don't yell so loud! Whatcha trying to do? MAKE ME GO DEAF?" Inuyasha yelled back at Shippo as he threw him over at the wall. However, Shippo quickly turned into his floating ball form and merely bounced softly off of the wall and down onto the bed.

"Ha!" The kitsune said in triumph as he poofed back into his normal form and turned to face away from Inuyasha his arms crossed in defiance. Inuyasha groaned in annoyance and began to walk out of the room and down the stairs. He needed some air.

Inuyasha walked slowly out the back door and out onto the lawn. He looked around the backyard until his eyes came to rest on the tree he had been pinned to for over 50 years. _'Maybe the fresh air will help clear my head.'_ He thought as he walked over to the tree, laying a palm on its trunk once in front of it. The memory of seeing Kagome for the first time came to mind as he kept his hand placed firmly against the bark. He remembered how innocent and scared she looked when he first lay eyes on her, it was kind of funny though, because now she wasn't afraid of him at all. In fact, she seemed to know exactly how to control him, even his demon half. _'Bet she wouldn't be so confident anymore if she knew you dreamed about killing her though.'_ He thought to himself as he let out a sigh.

"Inuyasha?" The voice startled him and he quickly turned around to face the owner of it. Kagome.

"Kagome." He stated as he looked at her. His expression was soft and light as he looked at her. She walked up to him and looked him directly in the eye, a small smile beginning to form on her lips.

"My mom's home and she said she would love to make ramen for dinner." Kagome said as she broke the eye contact and looked over her side out at the street. She seemed distracted. Now that Inuyasha thought about it, she had seemed this way back at the school when she had said she was okay with going back to the past. He was just too surprised in the beginning about her saying she was okay with it to have really noticed or said anything about it.

"Kagome…Are you sure you want to go back to the past?" Inuyasha asked. He decided it was best to just ask her again and clarify. "You look like something's troubling ya. Like you have something on your mind that you're not telling me?"

"Inuyasha…I just…I…" Kagome didn't know how to say it. She needed to stay in her own time because she had so much stuff here that she needed to get done! But…at the same time…she wanted to go back with Inuyasha. It was like she was drawn to going back, because he was.

"Kagome what is it? Just tell me!" He said grabbing on to her shoulders for the second time today. Trying to get her to look at him and give him a straight answer. He needed to know if she wanted to go back.

"Inuyasha. I know that we need to go back and all, but it's just that I…" Kagome sighed as she finally looked away from the street and up into Inuyasha's eyes. "But I just have so much to do here. I need to stay and get some things done." Kagome said quietly as she dropped her gaze away from Inuyasha staring down at the ground. She didn't want to fight with him on this anymore. She was so tired of always fighting.

Inuyasha's hands squeezed Kagomes shoulders tightly and then let her ago as he slowly started to accept defeat. He realized now that she had only wanted to go back because she felt that they needed to. Inuyasha didn't want to make Kagome go back to the past if it made her upset and if she really and truly wanted to stay. He could at least let her stay in her time for a little while longer, let her get things together. However, the thought of the Shikon jewel began to gnaw at his mind as he realized that there were jewel shards that may be near the village. Ones he couldn't afford to lose to anyone else.

"Okay…how about we…compromise?" Inuyasha asked calmly as he brought a hand up to Kagomes chin, tilting her head up to look him in the eye. She slowly began to register what he had said and a confused look started to appear on her features.

"Compromise?" She asked curiously. Kagome was willing to work things out with Inuyasha…but it just really didn't seem like him to want to do things this way. He was always so persistent and insensitive when it came to pushing to go after the Shikon Jewel.

"Well yeah." Inuyasha said letting out a sigh. He really didn't feel like explaining the next part. "You just have seemed so stressed out lately. I can tell that ya need a break and time to stay here. In your own time." He slowly let his hand drop from her chin and the one from her shoulder as he began to take a step back. "I'll go back to the Feudal Era and check out the rumor about the demon that might possess a jewel shard. You can get everything you need to done here and I'll be back in two days. We'll leave then."

Kagome slowly took in Inuyasha's words and then a slight smile began to form on her lips as her eyes brightened. She was happy that she was getting some more time at home, and that Inuyasha was actually taking the news of her wanting to stay well! "Thanks Inuyasha."

"Feh. I'll be back in two days wench. You had better have all of your stuff done by then!" Inuyasha said looking off to the side as he crossed his arms in defiance. He was back to his old self again. Kagome tried her best to stifle a giggle at him trying to act all big and tough.

"I will." Kagome said unable to shake her smile. She was just so happy to be able to spend some more time with her friends and family. She had really missed everyone. However, she suddenly felt a little twinge of sadness as she realized she wouldn't see Inuyasha though. _'Why would I be sad about something like that? I mean, I'll see him again soon enough. It's only a few days.'_ Kagome shook the feeling away as she watched Inuyasha begin to slowly look back at her and his demeanor calm again.

"Well, I think the ramen might almost be done. Wanna head on in and see?" Kagome offered as she slowly began to walk past Inuyasha and towards the house. She looked over her shoulder waiting for his response.

Inuyasha shook his head no and took a few steps back again in the direction of the well house. "Nah. I think I'll head on back to the past. The more time I get to find that demon that may or may not have a shard, the better." He said as he turned around and walked away towards the well.

Kagome merely shrugged. If anyone would pass up ramen for a Shikon Jewel shard it would be Inuyasha. He was so determined to get those things.

As Kagome began to turn her head back around to face the house she saw Shippo hurriedly bounding out the back door towards Kagome and Inuyasha. "WAIT! Inuyasha! Wait for meeeeee!" Shippo screamed as he quickly sprinted up to the tree where Kagome stood. She turned towards the shed that held the well to see if Inuyasha was still there, but he was already gone. Kagome looked back to find the young kitsune in front of her panting and flustered. "Kagome…can you take me back through the well?" Shippo asked shyly.

"You have the jewel shards Shippo. Can't you go back through on your own?" Kagome asked curiously, wondering why he wanted her to go with him.

"Yeahhh…but…I don't want to go alone! It gets kind of creepy down there." Shippo said embarrassingly as he looked away from Kagome down at his feet. Kagome smiled softly and sighed, unable to say no.

"Okay, come on Shippo." Kagome said bending over and picking Shippo up. She proceeded to carry him over to the well. Once there Kagome carefully set Shippo down on the edge of the well as she herself pulled up onto the edge and let her legs dangle over in mid air. "Now hold on tight to me Shippo." Kagome said as she grabbed the young kits hand and carefully pushed herself off of the ledge and into the swirling vortex that connected the Feudal Era and the present.

Just as they entered the strange world in the well Kagome began to feel some strange invisible force pulling her away from Shippo. Her grip started to weaken on his hand as she felt it sucking her to the right and forcefully pulling her away while Shippo continued to float on straight. "Ah! Shippo! I'm being sucked away!" Kagome yelled to Shippo as she started to lose grip on his tiny hand.

"Kagome! Don't let go!" Shippo yelled fearfully as he tried his hardest to hold onto her hand, but finally lost grip and her hand slipped out of hers. "KAGOME!" Within seconds the young miko was sucked away from Shippo and into the swirling abyss. Soon she was so far away Shippo couldn't see her anymore. "Kagome! Kagome where are you? Kagomeeeee!" Shippo screamed trying to find her, but there was now answer. Nothing. However, he was soon shot up into the well of the Feudal Era where he quickly jumped out of and onto the field in a full out sprint towards the village to get Miroku, Sango, and Inuyasha's help.

Meanwhile back in the well, as Kagome floated through the different passageway in the well she finally saw a bright light ahead. _'A way out?'_ Kagome thought as she started to head for it. Soon her body was propelled quickly forward and up and out of the opening to the light. Then, Kagome felt her butt make contact with solid ground as she fell out the portal to the well. After a second of regaining her bearings Kagome stood up and looked around.

Apparently the portal Kagome had come out of was indeed a well, but it looked different somehow. It looked to be in better shape, newer, than how she was used to seeing it. As she looked around her surroundings she saw that she was in the Feudal Era. The field was the same, the trees, the sky, everything! It was all here, and so was she. _'But then why did I get sucked to a different part then Shippo? I mean, this place looks like the Feudal Era…but I feel like…it's not the same.'_ Kagome thought to herself as she slowly waked through the field towards the forest line until she saw something red out of the corner of her eye. As she turned to see where the source of the color had come from she stood face to face with someone she hadn't expected to see here. Especially with her arrow knocked and pointed right at her!

_**Well! Bet you guys didn't see that coming! Haha, hopefully this leaves you guys wanting more of the story! I know that this chapter was kinda slow and rushed in some parts. But I had to get this all done before I got to the good parts! ;) Now the real drama and romance shall begin! PLEASE REVIEW! Let meh know what you think! I'll update as soon as possible everyone and I hope you guys enjoy the story so far. Thank you! Au Revoir. **_


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